Preview: Ipswich (H)

13 April 2018

NFFC

Nottingham Forest welcome Ipswich Town to The City Ground in the Sky Bet Championship tomorrow afternoon (kick-off 3pm).

Aitor Karanka will be keen to secure a win for the home supporters after suffering a frustrating 1-0 defeat by Brentford at The City Ground on Tuesday evening, as The Reds look to finish the remaining five games as strongly as possible.

Ipswich Town have had a rather turbulent week off the field after the early departure of Mick McCarthy following their 1-0 win over Barnsley on Tuesday evening, with caretaker boss Bryan Klug stepping up to oversee The Tractor Boys' final four games of the season. Ipswich currently occupy 12th position in the league table in another respectable season for them.

See below for the pre-match views of Aitor Karanka and Tendayi Darikwa.

Team news

Aitor Karanka could be tempted to make some changes to his side again after Tuesday's loss, leaving them without a win in six games.

Adlene Guedioura and Ben Brereton were both given the chance to impress in the week and they may well keep their place. Matty Cash also impressed off the bench after he made his return from injury and he could also be pushing for a start.

Joe Worrall, Daryl Murphy and David Vaughan are all expected to miss the game through injury.

From the opposition

Ipswich Town caretaker boss Bryan Klug has admitted that he is already losing sleep since taking charge and that he will be looking to the youth coaches and former Forest captain and current Ipswich captain Luke Chambers for some inspiration on the touchline.

The Town head of coaching and player development has taken over from Mick McCarthy (pictured above) until the end of the season after the Irishman's near six-year tenure came to an end on Tuesday, and he is looking for a united performance at The City Ground.

He said: "I have been in and around this club since 1977 and I know it's a fantastic club but it's a much better place to be and much stronger if everyone is pulling together and the supporters have a massive part to play in that.

"Chambo can be massively important for us as well. He knows all the players, knows how to get the best out of them. He's a good captain and intends to be a coach and a manager so he will get some experience of that as well.

"I'm not interested in doing the job at all though going forward. I am going to try and enjoy the experience but I'm already losing sleep over it!"

One to watch - Martyn Waghorn

Striker Martyn Waghorn is The Tractor Boys' top goalscorer this season with 12 goals to his name, one of those coming against Forest in their 4-2 win at Portman Road earlier this season.

The former Leicester City and Wigan Athletic forward has proved to be a real coup since his arrival from Rangers at the start of the season and his goals have been vital to Ipswich's steady campaign.

Last visit

Tickets

Tickets are still available with fantastic prices across the ground once again. It is Kids for a Quid and students can watch the game for just £5.

Forest 2-1 Ipswich

A last-minute winner from Joe Lolley secured a dramatic 2-1 win for Nottingham Forest against Ipswich Town at The City Ground this afternoon.

Without a goal for six games, it took until the 89th minute for Ben Brereton to convert from the penalty spot before Lolley's late heroics capped off a dominant Forest display.

Grant Ward's first-half opener had given the visitors the lead but it was Aitor Karanka's men who secured all three points with their last-gasp goals.

The Reds were unchanged from the side that lost to Brentford on Tuesday night but Kieran Dowell was reintroduced to the squad as he took his place on the bench, replacing Barrie McKay.

It was a rather quiet opening nine minutes with neither side creating any clear-cut chances, but that all changed when Ben Osborn ran clear through on goal. A mix-up in the Ipswich defence allowed the left-back to intercept possession and charge through on goal, but he could only fire his effort straight at the goalkeeper.

Lolley was looking lively for The Reds once again and he forced Bartosz Bialkowski in the Ipswich goal into a good save before Brereton was also denied by the stopper and captain Ben Watson saw a header clip the outside of the post.

But it was the visitors who took the lead through Ward on 38 minutes. A cross was fizzed in by Myles Kenlock and it found Ward who nodded home into the net, despite the best efforts of Costel Pantilimon to keep it out.

The Reds found themselves behind at the break and it could have been worse just five minutes into the second half as a clever free-kick routine from Ipswich nearly saw them double their lead. Martyn Waghorn's ball played through Luke Hyam who dragged his shot narrowly wide of the target.

Ben Osborn had The Reds' first meaningful chance of the half on 61 minutes when he met Tendayi Darikwa's looping cross but his header would only bounce into the ground and over the bar, but Forest found it difficult to break through a resolute Town defence.

The City Ground needed something to get them off their feet and thanks to Lolley, they did. The winger took the ball and sprinted forward on 73 before eventually being dragged down winning The Reds a free-kick in a dangerous area. Lee Tomlin's free kick was off target but it got the home fans on their feet and urging their side forward.

Time was running out for Forest and Lolley nearly caught out the Ipswich goalkeeper when he went for goal on the edge of the area but Bialkowski just about flicked it over the bar and a couple minutes later it was Brereton's turn to go close when he was played through by Lolley, but once again Bialkowski was equal to it and managed to deny the goal.

Finally, The Reds' pressure paid off in the 89th minute when Brereton won a penalty for his side. The forward was bundled over by Ward in the area and he coolly stepped up to fire it into the bottom corner via the post as the goal drought came to an end.

Forest sensed all three points and in the dying seconds they got their rewards as Lolley popped up with a superb winner, meeting Brereton's right-wing cross to fire past Bialkowski at his near post much to the delight of The City Ground faithful.